


Drifting Tides

by Stopturningintoapenquin



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Not Beta Read, Slow To Update
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:41:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26185834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stopturningintoapenquin/pseuds/Stopturningintoapenquin
Summary: In the days before the infection arose in the kingdom of Hallownest, a vessel born of void, root and wyrm met a vessel born of flame and nightmares. The consequences of which not even the Pale King with all his ancient knowledge could have predicted.
Relationships: Grimm/The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel
Kudos: 55





	Drifting Tides

**Author's Note:**

> I warn anyone who cares to read this that I started this fic as a what if Grimm and Pure had a child before Pure was sealed in the Black Egg. How would that have changed things? Also I'm extremely slow to update. Been working on this since April and while I have more written I realized I needed to break it up or I'll never post this.

By the time the caravan pulled up to the city gates the rain had dwindled to barely a drizzle. The faint smell of burning wood now lingered in the air without the storm to flush it out. Voices started to rise from all directions as locals came out of their houses and huts to gaze upon the now clearing night sky.

Since the troupe had departed weeks ago not a day went by where it did not pour. In fact the rain seemed almost endless. It threatening to wash away their caravan as they struggled over slippery mountain roads, filled rivers they forded past their banks, and joined the raging winds of the wastes in trying to tear the wagons apart. 

Grimm had been alive long enough to know the sense of uneasy he felt during the whole journey was not unwarranted. Especially when it seemed as the skies themselves were trying to impede their way.

The wagon lurched forward a few paces before stopping again. They were behind several other carts waiting to be let in and at the rate the line was moving it would be an hour before they were through. 

He watched as Brumm had got out to speak with the city guard leaving Grimm alone in the back of the wagon. Without his little musician to speak to Grimm had nothing to distracted him from the sense of foreboding he felt every time the Grimmsteeds brought him closer to gate. He had yet to see the city proper but just from sight of the small villages they had passed through it was clear this kingdom was still thriving. The scent of decay only seemed to waft from the compost heaps that rural bugs used to fertilize their gardens. And yet, the nightmare heart told them to come here.

He snapped his fingers and a small flame appeared between them. Its red glow illuminated the inside of the wagon, shadows lengthening and flickering across the canvas. The flame was still bright and strong, the Nightmare Heart still pulsing with the flames of the last fallen kingdom. With a sigh he extinguished the flame and leaned back against one of Divine’s many boxes of possessions. It was possible that the Nightmare Heart wanted to recruit more troupe members, but their last stop had yielded plenty of new servants. 

There was also the fact that this city housed a great number of higher beings. But Grimm doubted that Nightmare heart wanted to be so close to its own kind. It never had before, and he knew it had steered them clear of other god dwellings in the past.

No, Grimm thought, whatever business it has here does not want me knowing yet. 

“Master?” Brumm called, his head appearing through makeshift cloth door the covered the back end of the wagon, “They want to speak with you.” 

“Do they?” Brumm nodded.

“Whatever for?” Grimm asked, pushing himself up of the floorboard and made his way towards the door. Brumm simply shrugged and held the cloth open for Grimm as he stepped out of the wagon and on to the wet ground.

Grimm paused to look at their surroundings as he had not peered on of the wagon since he stepped into it this morning. No need to when it was raining so hard that everything blended into a blurred grey mess. It appeared they were in a giant cavern though most of the roof of it was open to the sky. The walls seemed to narrow as they approached the city gate. Brumm pointed beyond the front of the wagon and Grimm was surprised to see only two carts remained in front of them.   
“They said they won’t let us through until they speak to you.”

“Hmm.” Grimm hummed, “So we’re essentially holding up the line.”

“Yes master.” Brumm answered.

Without another word Grimm started towards the gates, Brumm hurrying alongside him. It really was a nice night and the scent of wet soil only made it better. A head of them a mantis pull their cart out of the mud and through the now open doors of the city gate. The sounds of gears turning startled Grimm. A smaller set of silver gates closed behind the mantis and slowly they disappeared below the ground in what could only be an elevator. 

It seemed he had been mistaking in thinking they were at the foot of the city. 

Though he doubted this was the only way into the city if the Troupe did need to leave in a hurry, which Grimm suspected was a strong possibly, the elevator could pose a problem.

Grimm took care to slow his pace as they approached the guard station. Two beetles appeared to be the only guards on duty, blue armor gleaming in the Lumafly light, but Grimm sensed that there were sentries watching from above. Their demeanor was too relaxed for there not to be. 

“Gentlemen.” He called out to them when he deemed he was close enough. “What seems to be the problem? Have you already reached your allowance of performers in your wonderful city?” The guards turned to look at him and he caught a look of surprise on their faces. They looked him up and down, clearly caught off guard by his size. Not many bugs were taller than him and the lamp light only made him look far more intimidating.   
He smiled at them. 

The female guard seemed to regain her composure first and spoke, “Ah, we just wanted to speak to the troupe master himself. We need to confirm with you how long you’ll be staying.”

“And how many are in your party!” The male one chimed in.

“Oh yes, and there’s also a fee.” The female one added and at last Grimm understood why they wanted to speak with him. 

“And, I also assume, a collection tax?” Grimm questioned. The troupe had no need of money, the nightmare heart sustained them all, but they were not stupid. They often came to kingdoms on the verge of collapse. Kingdoms that in response to their decline, tightened as if their end had come from outside instead of withing. When that happened, a little money to the right people was needed to gain entry. 

“Exactly, sir.”

“I see. Very well, our humble troupe numbers around twenty, include myself and my friend here. As for the length of our stay, we only plan to be here for three weeks at the most. But that of course depends on how the fine bugs of your fine city receive our show.” In reality, the length of their stay depended entirely on whatever business the primordial god that inhabited his body had in Hallownest and Grimm could only hope three weeks was enough time. 

The guards nodded. The female one taking out a scroll of parchment and jotted down their travel information.

“That’ll be about 2000 geo then, sir.” Now came the part where he was expected to barter. In truth they had more than enough to pay it in full. Divine was a master at liberating all manner of gentlebugs from their coin. And normally he would play with them, making it a game to see how low he could get them to drop their so called “tax”. But today he found no desire to play their game. Instead he wanted nothing more than to find a place set up camp and sleep. 

“Very well. Brumm, pay these two and let us be on our way.” And with that he turned to leave, hearing the gasps of the guards behind him as he walked away. Clearly they hadn’t been expecting him to pay such a large amount. 

He returned to the back of the wagon and after few minutes he heard Brumm shout from the driver’s seat for the Grimmsteeds to move. The wagon lurched forward and soon the metallic clang of the silver gates closing signaled they were in the elevator. They would have to wait at the bottom for the rest of the of the troupe. 

There was a brief pause before the elevator started to move downwards. The sound of gears turning echoed throughout the elevator shaft and the resulting noise was started to lull him into sleep when he felt it. A small pain inside his shell where his heart was once ages ago. 

The nightmare heart was calling out to him. 

Static swam at the edge of his vision and when it cleared he was no longer in the back of the wagon. Instead he found himself in front of the nightmare heart, it’s many blazing red eyes staring at him.   
Come forward, dear vessel, it commanded and he could only obey. Stepping forward he pressed his head against the hot surface of the heart and it shared with him a vision. One of a time when many ancient kingdoms were nothing more than a single insect with a dream. To a time when the moths still roamed and a single brilliant light illuminated the sky. 

And suddenly he knew why they were here. What Hallownest had been built upon.

The rain had been a bad omen. It was not the result of a bad stroke of atmospheric pressures like a normal bug would assume that typically led to bad weather. There was something that lingered in the air as the rain fell that Grimm had sensed. 

An overwhelming sense of sorrow, grief and helpless pressed down against them all as the rode through the storm. Initially Grimm has attributed it to the typical feeling such weather would bring to a long and difficult journey but as the weeks had worn on his suspicions grew.

Now he had his answer.

What had blanketed the skies as far beyond this kingdom had been last remnants of power that an ancient being could muster. 

It was no coincidence that the rain had stopped once they reached the grounds above Hallownest.

The rain had been a death rattle and Hallownest a grave. 

A call that led the Nightmare heart to this land to behold what horrible fate had befallen the Radiance.

**Author's Note:**

> I understand this is probably riddled with grammatical and spelling errors. People have been trying to teach me how to properly use commas for 20 years now and if i haven't got it by now i never will. Forgive me.


End file.
